No. 22-1859

RAFAEL ITHIER; EGC CORP., a/k/a El Gran Combo,

Plaintiffs, Appellees,

v.

CARLOS JUAN APONTE-CRUZ, a/k/a Charlie Aponte,

Defendant, Appellant,

JANE DOE; ABC INSURANCE COMPANY; COMPANY XYZ; RICHARD DOE; MARY ROE; CONJUGAL PARTNERSHIP APONTE-DOE; CONJUGAL PARTNERSHIP DOE–ROE,

Defendants.

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

[Hon. Jay A. García-Gregory, U.S. District Judge]

Before

Barron, Chief Judge, Montecalvo and Rikelman, Circuit Judges.

José A. Hernández Mayoral for appellant. Roberto Sueiro Del Valle for appellees. Tim Dadson, Brieanne Jackson, Matthew S. Hellman, Jennifer P. Garner, Jeffrey P. Bennett, Danielle S. Van Lier, Steven R. Englund, Eric E. Petry, SoundExchange, Inc., Jenner & Block LLP, American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, and SAG-AFTRA were on brief for SoundExchange, Inc., the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada, and Screen Actors Guild -- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, amici curiae.

June 18, 2024 BARRON, Chief Judge. If you think that Paul, John, George, and Ringo were "the recording artist[s] . . . featured" on the White Album -- even though that iconic record's cover mentioned none of The Beatles by name -- then you will not be surprised by the analysis that follows. The prompt for our analysis, however, is not a trivia question. It is an appeal from a judgment by the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico in connection with a dispute between the owners of El Gran Combo -- one of the most popular Puerto Rican bands in history -- and the band's former lead vocalist, Carlos Aponte- Cruz. The dispute concerns the Digital Performance Right in Sound Recordings Act of 1995 ("DPRA"), Pub. L. No. 104-39, 109 Stat. 336, which entitles the "recording artist or artists featured on [a] sound recording" to a 45% share of certain royalties that the recording generated. 17 U.S.C. § 114(g)(2)(D).

Aponte-Cruz contends that he is the "artist . . . featured" on certain El Gran Combo sound recordings for which he was the lead vocalist and so is entitled to his portion of the 45% share of the statutory royalties for those recordings. Id. The owners of El Gran Combo contend that the band -- as an independent entity distinct from any of its individual members -- is itself the "artist . . . featured" on those recordings. Id. They thus contend that only the company that owns the band, EGC Corp., and the company's sole owner, Rafael

- 3 - Ithier, have an entitlement to the 45% royalty share in the recordings at issue. Id.

We conclude that even though the covers for the El Gran Combo albums that contain the disputed recordings refer only to the band itself and not to any of its individual members, the Paul (or, if you prefer, the John) of El Gran Combo, Aponte-Cruz, is a "recording artist . . . featured" on the recordings in dispute and that neither EGC Corp. nor Ithier is. Id. Accordingly, we reverse both the District Court's ruling granting summary judgment to EGC Corp. and Ithier on their claims for declaratory relief under § 114(g)(2)(D) and the District Court's ruling denying summary judgment to Aponte-Cruz on his claims for that same kind of relief.

I.

The following facts are no